I shut my eyes for a second, trying to pull myself together.
“Look, Eloise,” I say, voice flat. “I don’t know why you’re here. And honestly? I don’t care. I just want to sleep.” I point toward the door. “You can throw that key out, by the way. I’m having the locks changed.”
She flinches. Just a little. And when I move toward the front door to open it for her, she blurts:
“I didn’t come here to…” She swallows. “I came to say I’m sorry.”
I just stare at her. No expression. No words. Just bone-deep exhaustion.
When she doesn’t continue, I shrug. “Okay?”
She wrings her hands once, then meets my eyes. “With everything that happened, with Harvey and Lauren, and with you two, I forgot something important.”
She takes a breath. “My son was the one who messed up.”
My brow lifts surprised she admitted one of her kids did something wrong.
“A year ago,” she says quietly, “I had three happy, fulfilled kids. Now I have a son who’s chasing his wife to another state, another who swears he’ll never move on, and a daughter who asked for space from me.”
She throws her hands up, voice cracking. “I failed. They tell Colter everything, but me-” she presses a hand to her chest “-I’m left out in the cold.”
I narrow my eyes. “How do I fit in all this?”
She looks down at her hands. “I always thought we had a good relationship. I know things were rocky at the start, but… I thought you liked me.”
“I did,” I say quietly.
She still doesn’t look up. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
My mouth opens, then closes. I walk over to the sofa and sink onto it, rubbing my forehead. “I don’t know. I guess…” I shrug. “I assumed you’d take his side.”
She shakes her head, firm. “I wouldn’t have. I know for a fact that cheating isn’t always about sex.”
I blink. “You and Colter?”
She exhales slowly. “There was a time when he and his partner… well, I thought they were more. And in a way, they were. He told her things he never told me.”
I sit up straighter. “What happened?”
She looks away, her expression folding in on itself. “Back then, women in the police force weren’t common. He felt protectiveof her. Even from me.” She grimaces at the memory. “It wasn’t until I… left him that he realized how serious it was.”
My head jerks up. “You left him?”
She nods. “It was before Harvey was born. And it wasn’t for long.” A small, tired smile touches her mouth. “After that, he never crossed the line again.”
I look away, swallowing. “That’s good. I mean… but what about trust?”
Eloise thinks for a moment, her eyes drifting toward the window. “It took time,” she admits. “A long while, actually. But I loved him.” She lifts one shoulder in a soft shrug. “I didn’t want to look back one day and regret not trying.”
She sits up straighter then, leveling her gaze with mine. “I’m not telling you this so you’ll do the same. I had the freedom of not having kids. If I’d been in your shoes…” She lets the sentence fade and tries again. “I don’t know what I would’ve done. But I do know I wouldn’t have done it alone.” Her voice gentles. “And neither will you.”
I stare down at my hands, throat tight. “Even if we divorce?”
Eloise reaches out and takes my hand in both of hers, warm and steady. “Even then,” she says softly. “You’re still my family.”
“Thanks,” I say, sniffing. I can feel myself fold like a pair of laundry. “And… you can keep the key.”
She actually laughs, a soft, embarrassed sound. “I didn’t mean to come in, I swear. I just really had to use the bathroom, and it felt strange to leave and pretend I’d never stepped inside. You know I’d never do that to you.”
